#geaw

Forty-eight

Sometimes you need a little reminder that birthdays are worth celebrating. Luckily, Jack's been teaching that lesson to Mac, Riley, and Bozer for years. 

This was originally started for this year's George Eads Appreciation Week, for the rubber ducky prompt.

It's still a WIP, but I actually managed to get some writing done on it today. Its still a little rough and I think Jack may have highjacked it, lol. I think it went off on a bit of a tanget.

“Please tell me they’re not real,” Riley asks, turning her attention back to Jack, one eyebrow raised as she pins him with a look.

“Now would I go and do a thing like that?”

He’s the picture of innocence as he looks back at her from the across the kitchen, and Riley huffs out a laugh and as she shakes her head in fond exasperation.

“You bought my daughter a horse, Jack. A hooves, and horseshoe’s, neighing real live horse, because she thought he was all soft and cute and she asked you to," Riley reminds her surrogate father. “So I think I’m validated in being a bit skeptical.”

“Now technically, sweetheart, Twinkle is a pony,” he says, like the height difference between the two animals takes away the point of her previous statement.  

“’Sides…” he continues as he makes a show of taking the pancakes off the griddle, each flapjack flipping high in the air before coming to rest on the plate that he’s holding in his other hand.

He gives her a wink as he shuts off the stove and moves the griddle aside. He picks up a small silver shaker and with a flourish and spin of his hand dusts the tops of each pancake with powered sugar to finish up his act.

Riley known Jack a long time, and knows one of his distraction techniques when she sees one, but still can’t help but be pulled in, impressed and entertained by the showmanship.

“It’s not like I brought him home or anything,” Jack defends.

“That’s only because, your no animals allowed in the GTO policy aside, he wouldn’t fit in the back seat,” she says.

“Mmm… Yeah. I didn’t really think that one all the way through,” Jack admits. “Good thing Thorpe runs that equine therapy ranch up in the hills and let’s us board him there. But… Jack Wyatt Dalton ain’t no push over, you know. I’ve gone toe to toe with the baddiest of the bad and not broken, no way a little girl will get through my steely defenses.”

“Is that, right?” Riley asks, amused. While there is no arguing with the first part of his sentence, from the very first moment that Jack finally met his granddaughter, she has had him wrapped around her tiny finger.

“That’s right,” Jack tells her. “Like… For instance… I didn’t buy her those penguins she begged me for.”

“Uh huh... Not for lack of trying.”

“Yeah… I think retirement has seriously messed with my mojo, that aquarium dude just wouldn’t give in.”

“It’s illegal for private parties to own penguins, Jack,” Riley tells him, not for the first time.

“I’m bettin’ Matty can pull it off. Bein’ away as long as I was, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen her go full Hun on anyone. Ohh… Oh, I know,” Jack exclaims, eyes wide with excitement. “Taylor… He can pull it off. He would do it a second.”

“…Russ? I don’t even know why I’m asking this. Or even encouraging you with this path of conversation,” Riley says, “But… why Russ?”

“’Cuz money… He has more than he’ll ever use,” he drawls. “Big ole donation to the aquarium. Heck, we could have an entire wing named in our honor. Little princess can go play with those tuxedoed birds anytime she wants. And… oh, I’ll get Steve to come teach her to swim, and scuba. That way she can swim along side 'em. He may be a whiny water baby, but the guy’s like a fish himself in the water. And—”

My favourite Jack thing is a well-written Mac and Jack army!fic. I love protective, BAMF and competent ex-Delta Jack figuring out this scrawny little bomb nerd and quickly falling into it being more than just a job to protect him. Also I’m a h/c fiend and the army!fics usually pander to my fave kinda tropes here.

So, for the (late entry Day 1) love of #GeorgeEadsAppreciationWeek (#GEAW), here’s a little (definitely not exhaustive) list of some of my favourite army!fics. Feel free to rec me more, because I’m sure I’m missing so many. All of these are gen. Some of them have notes added by me, but most don’t.

Fics are under the cut. 

When I first started this fic last year I had no idea I'd be finishing it in time for Febuwhump Day 28 and GEAW Day 2. Somehow things lined up and here we are.

I don't have much to say except that one day I got this idea, wrote the part between Mac and Patty and the rest is history.

I incorporated some elements from 5x05 in the plot. Hopefully it makes sense.

As far as warnings go, heed the tags. The part where Mac watches the video is the one where most of the possible triggers are mentioned in. Read with caution. Feel free to skip if this ain't your cup of tea.

I had so many feelings writing feral Mac.

Anyway, I am proud of finishing something I started over a year ago and satisfied with the final result.

George Eads Appreciation Week Day 1 - Favorites

For the lovely @rai-knightshade who suggested this idea, the awesome caps are from @panchostokes (thank you <3)

So since today's theme is favorite look, I'm gonna show y'all mine. Although you can probably already guess